People requiring wheelchairs include those affected with amputations, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and head injuries, among other debilitating physical conditions. These individuals often suffer from edema (pooling of fluid in areas of poor vascular flow), sensitive scar tissue and other surgical ailments. One of the most common complaints of wheelchair occupants is that of pain that is directly related to their use of a wheelchair. Unfortunately, at least some of the problems faced by wheelchair users are further exacerbated by the failure of current designs of wheelchair amputee pads and amputee pad systems to properly position a wheelchair occupant.
Another disadvantage of current wheelchair amputee systems is that they provide limited adjustability for people of different sizes, shapes and physical needs. For example, current amputee systems known to the inventor allow for almost no accommodation for the user's size. As the body gets wider, the amputated leg often gets wider, requiring a larger pad. An additional problem is that amputee patients often have a below the knee or above the knee amputation and current systems do not accommodate for this difference in stump length.
Edema in the amputated stump is another serious problem and is not addressed by the current design. Some wheelchair amputee supports provide limited adjustability, e.g. the wheelchair amputee pad can move vertically but has no depth adjustability, or the wheelchair amputee pad can move vertically but has no angle adjustability in the vertical or horizontal plane.
A common problem with current wheelchair amputee systems is the variability between commercially available wheelchairs. In particular, the leg rest tubes of the wheelchair often differ in configuration between wheelchairs. Specifically, in the inventor's experience, the diameter of the tubes may vary from between ¾″ to 1¼″. Additionally, while there are hangers for mounting standard leg rests, these hangers vary between manufacturers. Currently, a facility has to order a specific amputee system for a specific wheelchair. That is, current OEM manufacturers make specific amputee systems for specific wheelchairs. With the wide variety of wheelchairs and amputee systems available, it is prohibitively expensive to stock amputee systems for each and every wheelchair available. Further, there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” wheelchair. Wheelchairs and accessories therefor, such as the claimed invention, must be fit to each individual.
An additional problem with current wheelchair amputee systems is that they are not adaptable to all wheelchairs. For example, some wheelchairs, particularly those designed for more active lifestyles, have shorter leg rest tubes. More typical designs, such as those intended for nursing homes and hospitals, have longer leg rest tubes. Further complicating the matter is the fact that different manufacturers use different configurations for the leg rest tube. In addition, the users' cushion can vary in thickness, requiring the amputee pad to be height adjustable.
Accordingly, what is required is an amputee mounting apparatus and system that can be fitted to the user while the user is seated in the wheelchair. Such a device will reduce the number of transfers during such a fitting. This reduces the chances of falling, tearing of skin, bruising and other injuries associated with wheelchair transfers. This also expedites the fitting process, which allows the therapist to spend more time fine tuning the fit.
Therefore, what is needed is a wheelchair amputee mounting apparatus and system that is adaptable to wheelchairs having leg rests, having a wide variety of different diameters and leg rest hanger configurations. There is also a need to provide a wheelchair amputee mounting device and system that provides a wide variety of adjustability so that it can fit all shapes and sizes of people. Lastly, there is a need to provide a wheelchair amputee support that is quickly and easily removable such that it can be removed, and the wheelchair collapsed and stored.